Vacancy Highway
by silente faery
Summary: AU:When Danny crosses paths with a mysterious sorceress, he ends up bringing a ghost to life: Samantha Manson.
1. Vacancy Highway

A/N: I am back with more. Finally, I've come up with an idea for it, and the perfect plot so…hope you all enjoy!

Vacancy Highway

"I told you before, it's not haunted," Danny said to Tucker. "So what's the point of daring me to go in there if it's not?"

They were in front of the famous maze at a dead exit in the highway. The plants that made up its walls were legend to be possessed, and eat everything. There was a whole book on the subject as well. Such things it did eat were things that people had in the middle ages, like any food, material, string…and unbelievably, it also ate candy. It was something about the syrup…

"Come on, aren't you curious?" Tucker said animatedly. "There might really be an evil ghost in there, like the legends say!"

"Tuck…" Danny said, giving him a deadpan stare.

"Aw come on. Besides, if there aren't any ghosts then you get the money, and I won't call you a coward. But if you're too scared…"

"Of course not! You'll just be giving me free money, since it obviously isn't true."

"Come on…please? For your best friend in the entire world? And there's only one way to find out…"

"Fine then…"

Danny sighed, and then reached into his pocket.

"What'cha doing, Danny?" Tucker inquired.

Danny pulled out a spool of wire.

"Pulling out this." Danny said, smirking.

"Why'd you bring _wire_?"

"Just in case the legend is true. You can never be too careful…"

"Hah. Just go in there man." Tucker said, laughing slightly.

"Ok. Here, hold this for a while," Danny said, handing him the end of the wire. "Attach it to that tree right there." He pointed to the tree that was three inches away.

"Ok. Good luck."

"Look forward to paying me!"

Danny waved at Tucker, and then walked inside the maze.

As soon as Danny set foot in the maze, the plants on the walls stirred from a nonexistent wind.

'Creepy…' Danny thought, then started walking again, his hand wrapped tightly around the spool.

When the wire seemed to not rock as much, he pulled it again, turning around the corner. From there the air turned stiff and dry. He looked up and saw the sun rising even though it was six 'o clock in the afternoon.

'Is this all there is? Changing weather? Well it still might be "haunted", I suppose. Or maybe it's some special effects…'

He came to a fork in the trail then closed his eyes. He walked forward and stepped on each of the entrances to the different paths.

'Slightly different compression, so it's not left. Right it is.'

He walked down the right path and came to a stop. The plants here were all dead. He looked up and saw a moonless night sky.

'Oh well, since there's a 'ghost' down here, this must be the right way. After all, why would it want to live by live things?'

He walked onwards, treading his feet carefully amongst the brush on the ground just in case there were any traps, which were also mentioned in the legend. This time the maze branched off in a few steps, but if he continued straight, there was another branch-off at the end. He walked up to the first branch and closed his eyes, putting his foot on the entrance.

'A different density…I'll continue straight instead.'

He walked back onto the path, and then continued straight. As soon as he turned, there were black and gray worn-down bricks instead of plants, and covered with some sort of plaster-type substance. He looked up, and the sky was pure red.

'Considering the time in which this thing was made, I'm not surprised,' he mused.

He continued on, noticing that only the slight leaf here and there littered the path. He could now easily tell which the right path was, for the wrong ones still had plants on them. As it winded down, he took a quick glance towards the spool that he was holding.

'It better be ending soon, I'm running out of this stuff.'

He turned again, and was confronted with a steel door, which was covered with dead vines. The key lock had long rusted away. He pulled it out, and then pulled open the door, only to bring a beautiful but ghastly sound to his ears:

"Sunlight, Moonlight, fading in circle

Time goes forwards, then comes backwards

All to my whim and tell

Mix and Match all souls in my bottles

It's your time now to shine once more

Only to fall to that darkness which killed you hence

I bring you forth…twice hour then you'll be one again

My charm has lapsed enough, prepare yourself."

Danny peered into the dank room, only to see a young girl in pigtails. Suddenly, she turned around, revealing acknowledging gray eyes.

"I see you have come." She said.

"What do you mean? What are you doing here, anyways?"

"I am the one and only, the controller of the PH system in the ghost zone."

"PH system, what's that?"

"It is not my place to tell you. Are you the one who has come to fight me?"

"You!" Danny said incredulously.

"Yes. If you do manage to defeat me, I will grant you one soul, of one who I have sent to die again on this fateful day."

"One…you're confusing me."

"Confusing…?" The girl twitched, turning her head to the side. "I hope someone comes after you. You will definitely not defeat me, clueless one."

"Hey! I am not clueless!"

"What I say goes, boy!" The girl suddenly morphed into a colossal gray rag.

"You're a ghost! Stupid thing to decide to turn into…"

"Yes, I am a ghost, and you will die for your ruthlessness!"

She dived and covered him in an attempt to suffocate him. Danny transformed into his other half and phased through, causing the rag to tumble to the ground. He flew up into the high reaches of the maze. The walls were really high through, so he wasn't exactly out.

"Is that all you've got?" Danny asked.

"Not nearly, child." She said, and then shape shifted into a small hawk.

Danny blasted ectoplasmic rays at her, but with her lithe form she could easily dodge them.

"Would you quit being a wuss?" Danny said, thoroughly annoyed.

"I'm not being as you stated so _elegantly_, I am being wily."

"Uh huh," Danny snorted, and then started aiming again, though she continued to dodge.

She darted in at a crucial moment, and dug her claws into his shoulder, then tore.

"Ahh!" Danny screamed, and then shot her dead on.

She tumbled down, only to turn into a bear.

"What's a bear gonna do?" Danny said, raising his eyebrow. "It can't touch me from up here."

"Oh really?" She said lightly. "How about if I make you come to me."

Her eyes glowed for an instant, and then Danny fell to the ground.

"What's this, a magic show?" Danny spouted, and then got up to block her from toppling over him.

"I guess so. After all, I am an enchantress." She growled, and then increased her output force.

'She's tough,' Danny thought, sweating. 'At this rate, I will lose. And that's definitely not going to happen!'

"Giving yourself a speech of encouragement, I see hither," She said airily.

"So you read minds too…what else do you have underneath that hairy sleeve of yours?"

"More than you can imagine." She said, grinning.

"Woah, breath alert! I know a few million years can do this to you, but this is inexcusable! You can poof your bad breath away, like in that commercial, whatever it was called…" Danny started to scratch his head.

"Silence boy!" She said, then catching him off guard, swiping her paw which sent him flying into the left wall.

She then transformed into a luxurious cheetah with a tough coat and scratches all over. She dashed towards him and swung at his leg. Fortunately, Danny dodged it and flew into the air once more.

"Take this!" Danny yelled, then blasted ray after ray at her.

She dodged for a while and then she stopped suddenly, causing Danny to stop as well.

"This is getting quite boring," She said, sighing. "Let me finish you off, this is taking too long."

She then shape-shifted into an enormous dark blue dragon with sharp claws and a chain collar wrapped around her neck, then she grinned maliciously.

"Time to end this nonsense!" she said, then rose up in the air and flapped her wings twice, creating a strong wind which cause Danny to hit the wall again.

"Oww…" Danny muttered, rubbing his head. "Can you _please_ stop doing that? It's not good for my health…"

"So you feel that it must be done quicker as well, hn? Fine by me!"

All of a sudden, chains appeared seemingly out of nowhere in the dark room and wrapped themselves around Danny, trapping him and disabling him from moving.

"Magic tricks…again? This shouldn't be allowed." Danny muttered, grimacing at the tightness of the chains.

"But by my rules it is quite acceptable. But unfortunately, these are the magic chains that adorn my wall. So they were here before."

She grinned once again.

"Ok, in a moment that smile of yours will fall off your face," Danny said in an attempt to distract her while he thought of a plan. "It's way too gorgeous for your type."

'The ghostly wail is my only hope at this point.' Danny thought. 'But provided I have enough strength left, and it weakens her significantly, then I can finish her off.'

"What are you talking about, child!" she screeched angrily. "I am the most beautiful enchantress in the world!"

"How do you know that?" Danny said, smirking. "You've never left this room. I've seen many girls that are twice as beautiful as you." He almost laughed as she shivered in pure anger. "But you don't need beauty. You just elude yourself by using your little spells…"

"I don't need spells to be beautiful! I don't need spells to finish you off, wretched boy!"

Her nostrils flaring, she flew in towards were Danny was on the floor.

'Come on, come on…now!' Danny thought, then released his ghostly wail.

All the glass mirrors and bottles broke while the enchantress was thrown back against the other side of the room, rearing in agony. It lasted for a moment or two, until Danny lost enough energy to sustain it, and fell to the ground. The dragon slid to the ground with numerous wounds all over her body.

"Darn you kid…" She growled, and then slowly got up.

"Uhhnn…" Danny muttered, struggling to get to his feet.

"So that last attack drained you, eh?" She said.

"No," Danny denied, finally standing up. "I have just enough to take care of you!"

"Oh see…this reminds me of a little story I heard, so let's play it out before you die, child. Except, dear Theseus will lose the poor battle. How sad…"

She then tried to transform into a bull, but she was so drained of power that only her top half changed.

"Oh well, guess I have to be the Minotaur," she said, shrugging.

'Well, the only way to defeat the "Minotaur" is with the "magic sword",' Danny thought, then tried to concentrate his spectral energy into a point.

He felt a release and then looked at it.

'Came out a little crooked…oh well, it'll do,' Danny thought, then turned back to face the enchantress.

"Hey woman! This is it! I'm taking you down!" He yelled just for the fun of it.

"No. You will be the one who listens for the bells (1), child."

"Uh…what the heck does that mean? Wait…never mind, you won't tell me anyways. Let's get on with it."

The girl reared her horns, and Danny positioned his energy sword in front of him. Then in the strike before the next hour, they charged. When the clock hit 6:00, Danny's sword pierced the enchantress.

"Eh…" she said blankly. "You've won after all. One soul it is, as promised. Take care of it, as it is now yours."

Then she disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Danny blinked twice.

"Aw man," Danny said. "That was a waste of time. Now where did I leave that piece of wire…?"

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Danny stood outside the maze with his cell phone in hand, talking into it angrily.

"Tucker! Where the heck did you go off to?"

"I was tired…so I went home! How did the maze thing go?"

"You owe me the money."

"Easy or hard?"

"A total waste of time. There was a ghost in there…"

"I told you so!"

"…and she said that if I defeated her, which I did, but I think she kind of let me win, that she would give me one soul. What do you think she meant by that?"

"Um…she's gonna give you an extra life?"

"This isn't a game Tuck."

"Or maybe she's given you someone's soul…"

"Well that's literarily speaking. Wouldn't she have given me like a bottle or something?"

"Maybe you have to find it…"

"But what would I need with a soul, Tucker?"

"I have no idea. Listen, my dad wants me to do some errands, which I have to do; otherwise I'm not getting that new game!"

"And let me guess, conveniently after these errands are done, you will finally remember that you have a date with your lovely girlfriend."

"I forgot! Thanks for reminding me, you know she can get seriously angry and attack me!"

"Yeah I know…and I got the worst of it. Actually, I still do. Well, talk to you later Tucker."

"Bye. Drive back safely; I heard it was going to rain on the weather broadcast on my PDA."

"Thanks for informing me Tuck."

'Click.'

Danny walked all the way back to the parking lot, though his muscles were killing him. When he spotted his dark blue car, he walked over to it, and then took out the keys to open the door. Afterwards, he got inside. This was the car he had gotten for his seventeenth birthday. For some reason, he wanted to get a hybrid, so he had to save up for half. His mom was just glad he wanted a car at all, instead of wanting to drive the family's car forever. He sighed, then started the car and drove out of the parking lot.

A few minutes after he got on the road it started to drizzle. He wasn't the type to bother with retractable hoods so he got a roofed one, which was easier to deal with in his type of schedule. He pushed the windshield wiper button and then continued on his way. A few minutes later, the popping sound of the rain became more and more evident, and he had to turn up the windshield wiper speed to the highest that it could go to keep a clear view on the road.

'How hard is it raining now?' he thought, as he felt his car starting to swerve a bit. 'Gotta keep my concentration…'

He turned around only to see a fire on the side of the road.

'Guess someone already crashed. It hasn't even been raining for that long…'

He drove past a little more, only to see a smashed up black Lexus GS 450h across the road. It looked like it had been run into quite forcefully.

'That couldn't be just the weather,' Danny wondered, but looked closer. There was rust on the car. 'Ok…so it's been around for a while, maybe a year or more. If so, why is the fire fresh? Maybe the car had the rust originally…hmm…'

All of a sudden, the windshield wipers froze and the air became extremely foggy. The car began to swerve as Danny struggled to control it. He saw a shadowy figure staggering just ways away from the part of the road where he was. He tried to control the car, but it continued to swerve.

'Darn it…no! Stay still darn car! Ahhh…'

He couldn't close his eyes. He saw the shadowy figure walk into the middle of the road, and as his eyes widened, he could barely see that it was a girl, probably his age, with long raven hair and closed eyes. She opened her eyes to reveal startled purple ones. When Danny broke out of his stupor, he quickly slammed on the breaks as hard as he could. The car swerved some more and then stopped. The girl was shocked speechless, barely touching the hood of the car and shivering heavily. Danny blinked twice, and then darted out of the car, grabbing the girl and shaking her slightly.

"Miss, are you ok? I almost thought I would…I hate to sound like a parent but, don't walk out on the road like that! I almost hit you, darn it! I was so scared…" The girl just blinked, pure shock creeping into her vivid eyes. "You're all wet, come in the car where it's safe…"

Danny grabbed her by the arm softly then walked back to the car, opening up the right door and sat her inside, before closing it and getting in on the other side. The girl slowly turned to face him, and then he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"I uh…hope I didn't sound all creepy like a stalker or something. Was that your car, by the road?" The girl furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "The black one?" She nodded. "Well, I'll take you home if you want. It is kind of late, and I'll pay you back for almost running you over…are you bleeding?"

Danny gasped. A stream of blood was running down her left cheek.

"I have some bandages, don't worry!" I said, and then was about to open the compartment to get some, until the girl gasped, startled. "What's wrong, miss?"

"I…I…this is…impossible…"

"Whadda you mean?" Danny asked, thoroughly confused.

"Why the heck aren't I dead!" She said, and then her whole body started to shake.

"You…you…" Danny said, finally getting what the ghost in the maze had done.

"You were supposed to run me over, like the guy did last time! How were you able to stop? It's the system! How did you break me from the system! How am I…I'm alive, aren't I?" She said, sighing and looking extremely tired all of a sudden.

"I guess you are. I guess you can stay with me then."

"A-alright…who are you, anyway?"

"My name's Daniel Fenton. You can call me Danny if you want. What's yours? Unless you don't remem-"

"My name's Samantha Manson," she said, shrugging, and then smiled a bit. "Though I never dreamed of saying this ever again, I'm pleased to meet you."

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1. Listen for the bells: Nordic God Religion: when a death carriage came for a soul on earth, there'd be a bell sound, and then the soul would leave the body and go to Hel, the daughter of Loki. I got information from my best friend in Iceland, luvdaggers. :). Well, it might be another thing but…she doesn't know. Her grandma that told her the tale had Alzheimer's disease so it has affected the accuracy of the names.

Theseus and the Minotaur: A story from greek mythology, where I got the setting for this chapter from.

And thank you Stormrider7, for all your help on this chapter. XD


	2. The PH System

A/N: Ok I'm mentally prepared to update the next chapter of this story. I admit, it will be a bit creepy &/or weird, & this is the 1st true supernatural story I've done so far…All of the readers should be able to guess which two stories I had to combine…the 1st was a given, the 2nd…inferred. I hope by the time I write my dragon fic people will review…oh well. Enjoy the latest installment! Sorry I haven't been around; I've been unable to do absolutely anything…even that AP stuff I was supposed to do, so I can't take the classes I needed to take this yr. I couldn't even get up in the mornings. I did nothing all summer…

Disclaimer: I only own my stuff. My ideas. Not the characters which are owned by someone else. Har.

Don't leave your flames for me to read, if need be. Tell your friends about it. I have someone I can go to which hates my writing if I wanted to read flames, which I don't go to that meatball-loving guy so I really don't want your flames. So don't waste your time writing them, ks? Thanks…

The PH System

It was cold and dark. It was always this way, ever since she first was grabbed from the street by strange smoky creatures only to see the fleeting image of her body sprawled onto the ground. One swooped down and picked that up too. She was very afraid, more than she had ever been in her entire life. She first put it off as just another of her weird and senseless nightmares, caused by the unsettling call from her ex-boyfriend the other day. Dash was so rash at times…she used to love him but now was afraid of him. Her parents relished the idea of them eventually marrying after college and having some kids of their own to inherit her family's fortune and continue passing it down and she was kind of looking forward to that as well. But after a while, her love for him vanished one fateful day in the hallway.

It was just an ordinary school day, well one as ordinary as the end of ninth grade could be. Of course 'end' was the magic word, and she was positively ecstatic, well as ecstatic as any Goth girl would be. In the summer she could maybe take a break from her over-controlling boyfriend and actually go to her favorite bookstore again. The ban she had gotten when Dash made her take his football buddy Kwan with her to 'protect her' only lasted a few months, but to her it seemed like forever. It was the only place she could really be herself, even around her boyfriend she could not. She had to struggle everyday with her parents just so she didn't have to wear pink. Her efforts nearly exhausted her to the point where she couldn't think straight.

On the last day of school she decided that she would take a break from everyone in her life. She wouldn't meet Dash at her locker at the lunch period, or at least she would try to. As soon as the bell rang for lunch, she darted out of the classroom even as Dash protested "Hey Sam, wait up!" She rushed into the hallway which was slowly filling to the brim with students who were getting books from their lockers. She swerved through the crowds as best as she could until she was bumped from the back into the most gorgeous blue eyes she had ever seen. As soon as she had achieved contact, she couldn't break away from that gaze, it was so…tranquilizing. She couldn't think why she had any reason of breaking that gaze…she was forcefully brought to reality by a swift jerk.

"Is that dork bothering you?" Dash said, holding her arm possessively as he glared at the boy she ran into.

"No, I just bumped into him," she said vaguely, then said to the boy, "Terribly sorry about that, sorry we couldn't stay and chat…"

The boy furrowed his eyebrows slightly, and then nodded, and yet he seemed to be in a daze. Sam couldn't help but wonder if he was or if it was just the effects of her sudden dizziness. Oh well…Dash's tugging on her arm distracted her to the point of madness, so she turned around to face him.

"Come on, I swear there's something wrong with you today…" he said angrily, and then dragged her to the lunchroom.

"I just…have a slight headache," she managed, yanking her hand out of his grasp and then walking alongside him.

"Alright then…" Dash shrugged. "Now wait for me at our table, ok? Don't wander off."

"Fine…" Sam said, then when he walked into the lunch line, continued, "Not on your life." She huffed then walked out of the cafeteria.

She looked around the hallway before walking towards her locker to get all the items out of it. She stuffed in her black sketch book, her various jewelry pieces that her mom would never catch her wearing…she glanced slightly at the picture of her and Dash. She had an awkward look on her face because he was holding her too tightly for her comfort. Suddenly angered, she tore it in half, and then stuck the remnants in her bag. Unknowingly someone had watched her do just that. From there, she put in her animal rights magnets with various messages such as 'Meat's no treat for those you eat' and 'Fish are friends, not food'. She cherished those a lot. Her mother didn't even know she had them, which made them all the sweeter. She looked back at her empty locker before slamming it closed. Then she stomped down the hall, fully aware of all the empty classrooms she was passing up. And it felt good. She decided that she was going to change, and for herself, not for Dash, or for her parents, or for anyone else that wanted to control her…

Her thoughts paused, for in that instant of epiphany she didn't realize that anyone was in the hallway, and she had accomplished running into that same person whom she was trying to avoid…just great.

Dash grabbed her shoulders and shook her slightly.

"Why did you rip our picture, Sam?" Then he paused, and then started on a quieter note, "Is there something wrong?"

"Yea there's something wrong…we're through."

"Oh," then a pause, followed by "What! What do you mean, we're through! Are you going through something, 'cause don't worry, I'll be there for you!"

"It's just that, I realized…you're not the one for me, you know?"

"Whadda you mean, Sam? Of course we're meant to be together!"

"You're not the one for me, nor me for you, Dash. I like you a lot but you must understand…the relationship is over."

Before he could say another word she darted into Mr. Lancer's classroom, the only one with one person still in it, and shut the door, leaving Dash spilling curses with only himself to hear. But it was the one thing she would always regret.

The day after, her answering machine was full with messages from Dash. He was full of regret and wanted to be back together with her. She almost forgave him but was too worn out from school to do anything. The following day though, he only left one message.

"…Hi baby cheeks, this is Dash. I know you were pretty angry yesterday, but all's forgiven, eh? Let's go out. Bye."

Ugg…that was one nickname she hated so much, though not as much as Sammy-kins. She crossed her arms and lay back down in her bed, only to be routinely woken up by her overly zealous mother and father. When she got back from breakfast she got another message. She inwardly sighed. He was going to get over it eventually, right? She then pushed the playback button.

"Hey Sam…why haven't you called me back? Are you mad at me or somethin'? I'm getting worried about you…call back."

He sounded really weird in that one. Oh well…Her thoughts were interrupted by her mother calling, so she went downstairs with a groan.

In the next few days, things were a blur. Every day she checked her voice messages, and there was always at least one message from Dash. And they were getting more and more frequent, not to mention weirder. But oh, it just had to get worse…

About in the middle of August, Dash left a message:

"Hey Sam, I've decided…I know you don't really want to be with me anymore. And I understand that. But you have to understand me also…that if I can't have you, no one else deserves you, so it's really simple. You have to die. I'll be at your house at 5:00 PM. Give me hugs and kisses when I get there. Bye babe."

The sound declaring that the message was over beeped unnoticed by the tense air. Sam was too busy being shocked to. She glanced at the clock nervously, and then froze. It was almost five now. She began to panic, even though in the back of her mind she knew it was unlike her. She hurriedly put on her shoes and grabbed her keys, then ran out to the car her parents got her for her birthday. She wasn't supposed to be driving until 16, especially since no one was supervising, but she had a special kind of agreement with the police…well her parents did. So did Dash as a matter of fact, but she wasn't going to think about him. She ran out of the house door and closed it behind her, then ran out to her car. Getting inside it as fast as possible and then starting the car, she almost failed to see in her mirror that there was a familiar car driving up in front of her house. Shocked out of her wits, she drove away, but the other car started up again and followed her. She looked in her mirror again and then recognized the car was Dash's brother's. Obviously Dash had either enough money to bribe the police, or he was using the fact that he and his brother looked so much alike to his advantage. Of course, no one could just find him and tell that Dash wasn't who he said he was, for he had died years ago from alcohol poisoning, which ended up in Dash being raised like an only child.

Besides the fact, she couldn't take too much time to think about anything except going as fast as the speed limit would allow. Of course it didn't help when he speeded up along with her – not to mention getting closer to running into her bumper – too bad there were no people on the street at this hour, which was odd. Good thing the speed limit was increasing…But then it started to rain, harder and harder still, until she could barely see. She looked slightly to turn on the windshield wipers, then all her focus was on the road again. She soon forgot the reason why she was in fact driving, only that it was imperative for her not to stop. Good thing no police were on her tail, for that would make it all worse.

Sooner or later, she noticed that her arms were getting quite tired, so she glanced at the clock. She had almost been driving for an hour! She glanced back at her mirror, and surely enough he was still on her tail and speeding up. She glanced back up at the road only to find herself reeling off course, and then struggled to get back on the road. As distracted as she was now, she could not have been prepared for what Dash had planned quickly. He rammed straight into her car, sending her and it straight into the trees and brush on the other side of the road. She blanked out for a second, barely feeling that something wet and thick was now dripping down her cheek. 'Must be the rain,' she assumed vaguely, then crawled out of the car. It had somehow caught on fire, but her mind was too jumbled to think clearly, or even remember where she was. She limped over to the highway and started to cross it absentmindedly – she could even no longer feel her legs – when she heard a screeching sound. She turned around only to come face to face with that car, which was now as clear as ever a blue as it ever seemed to be. It reared up, as angry as a bull it seemed, as she locked eyes with Dash, in an almost flabbergasted manner. His eyes hardened and the car reared forth, hitting her straight in the gut. And she could feel nothing more, or see anything for that matter, until she heard a screeching of sorts, and then was awakened. But it was a hollow awakening, for all she could see was in shades of gray. She could see the dark cloudy skies which was void of all its slight color, which frightened her. She looked around, then up again, and saw vulture-like creatures circling above her head. They then suddenly swooped down and pierced their talons into her flesh. She almost screamed but then came to a shocking realization: that she felt no pain. They picked her up and then flew, airborne once more, into the dark and gloomy skies. Their wings were made of smoke, and so blended with the gray atmosphere. She turned down, and they screeched for her not to, but her eyes widened and she saw…Dash staring at her sprawled body. Hers. As dead as a doornail. And he was…he…he picked her up and threw her in the bushes, then buried her in rubbish. And then he got in the car and drove away. Oh, and how she kicked. She could not help but scream out, if the birds would listen to reason:

"I can't leave me there! I cannot! Let me down! Let me down, I say! Oh please!"

She tried to cry, but all she could do was moan. No tears would come out of her now useless eyes. She did not want to see this gray world. She was not dead, she knew it. This was just a dream and she would wake up… 'That is why I feel no pain', she concluded. But if it were a dream, she would soon realize that she would in fact never wake up from it. It was her curse to have died on the highway. If she were to die anyway, had she known, she would have just stayed in the house and waited for him, with his dagger…but that would be suicide, and she had tried not to die. But it was all wasted, or so it had seemed for a very long time indeed.

The birds flew her until they got to a place in the sky where it shimmered.

"We are almost there," One bird croaked. "This is the Aperture (1), our passage into your new home."

"Yeah a hole," she remarked in her usual fashion. "A very unique name indeed." Hey, at least she hadn't lost her attitude.

They ignored her though, if they could hear her, for they flew on wordlessly through the hole and into a whole other world. She gazed in awe at the floating doors. There were millions!

"What are they for," she asked curiously, trying to take her recent death off her mind.

"They are doors to other universes within the Ghost Zone, and to the domains of other spirits, ghosts, you name it, even the guardians themselves." Another bird answered.

"Ooh the guardians," she said, trying to sound interested. "Of what exactly?"

"Of time, of light, of order, and of song." The third bird replied.

"That's it?"

"That is what truly makes up our world, but no one ever realizes it." The fourth bird said.

"Sure, ok, I trust you, after all this weird stuffs."

After this they flew in silence. Sam realized that she no longer was breathing, and felt strangely uncomfortable. They then dove into a dark door, which slammed after them. They flew into the darkness, Sam flailing about and wandering what was occurring. After a moment, they stopped, and then a lamp turned on, revealing the face of a beautiful woman.

"Hello, my child. You have just died, of course." She said in a silkily sweet voice.

"Hi. I guess I did," Sam replied morbidly.

"You are to live in your new home. Your new sight is to adjust to the darkness. Every time it is the anniversary of your death, you shall live again, and then die again the same time as you died before."

"Yep, I deserve such a horrible fate."

"Well, you did die in my domain. I control all souls who have died on the highway. I give them as I choose, keep them as I choose."

"Eh…"

"But, I will see as always how fate turns out in the end. Some soul will be lucky at the next random anniversary. Clockwork will inform me of the time in three years."

"Whoever it is, happy joy."

"I know, am I not so nice as to give out free souls every once and a while?"

"A great big fat joy."

"I'm glad you think so! Now, to your new home. Don't worry; it will be a quick transfer. I dismiss you, birds."

The birds vanished with a snap of her fingers, and then she turned to me.

"Close your eyes, dearie."

Sam closed them, the lady snapped her fingers, and then when she opened them she was surrounded in darkness.

She soon learned to live in darkness. In it, time passed as if it were an eternity for each second. She did not need food so there were no disturbances. She grew very lonely and was forced to reminisce over her short life. With every occurrence, she thought of a perfect scenario to make the day better. After only six months, she had created the perfect life sequence, though she would be too bored if given a chance to live it. No, she would sit in darkness as she grew accustomed to it even more, and plan out more scenarios.

When a year had passed, she was not prepared. All of a sudden fingers snapped and she was on the side of the road, full of pain. She could still only see grays. She stumbled out to the road and almost expected to see Dash in his car with hardened eyes, but instead was a young man about the age of thirty driving at full speed with country music blaring. His car was a vivid blue, though not of the same type, but that was all that mattered. He ran into her, and it hurt twice as much as the first, for the metal pole sticking out of the hood pierced straight through her. She closed her eyes in pain, then opened them again and was back in the darkness with no air needed to gasp, though she did anyway.

The second year was better. It was an old man in a blue beetle singing softly to the oldies. He just ran into her and she never seemed to feel a thing. She was not surprised to return to the darkness. All she thought of for the next year would be who she would be ran into next time around. And she hoped that the car did not have anything as near dangerous as a metal pole sticking out of it the next time.

And here she was now, riding in the car that was supposed to hit her with a young man that she surprisingly couldn't stop staring at, though she knew it wasn't still from shock.

"So…" the guy said. No wait, his name was Danny. "Where're you from?"

"Here," she replied meekly, looking at the rain through the glass window.

"Oh," he replied wistfully, and then pondered for a moment.

Without meaning to she turned to stare at him. She wondered still how this could be, for she still saw in grays. Suddenly her eyes flared with pain and she closed them, emitting a scream. She could feel tears leak out of them as she rubbed them furiously.

"Hey, are you ok, mi- I mean Samantha?"

"I," she barely squeaked, then painstakingly opened her eyes to meet a deep and luscious blue.

"Your eyes are red, are-" He paused, lost in the same daze that I had just fallen into. "Hey…I thought your eyes were gray." He said vaguely.

Snapping out of it, Sam snapped "Keep your eyes on the road," and like a bird his head snapped back to where the road was. "Let's avoid an accident, now. I don't want to die again. If I am alive," she whispered the last part to herself, but Danny heard full well.

"Hey I was wondering…" he started.

"Yeah?"

"Do you know some sorceress lady who keeps souls for some 'PH'?"

"What! Have you met her?"

"I kind of, did. We had this really cheap fight, I think she let me win or something, I mean, she was offering me a soul if I won, and I did, but it was such a cheap fight, and I-"

"Hold up."

"Hwuh?"

"She gave you a soul."

"Yep, but who knows what she meant by that."

"She gave you…my soul? That's why I...you…well…ahh no! It can't be!"

"Huh, what's the matter?"

"Since she gave it to you…I will not be your servant, I have you know that right this instant!"

"This instant, who speaks like that these days, only the rich kids really and then rarely-"

"I was a rich kid, but I didn't like being one. My parents were too controlling of me. I talk like this because I'm used to it, and most of how I talk my parents don't approve of. Or…well…"

"Yeah…hey I was wondering…"

"Yes?" She said, raising her eyebrow. 'How many times can this guy wonder?'

"Where are you going to stay, with me?"

"I guess, or whatever, you're responsible for me now."

"Um ok, my parents aren't home anyway, which is good. I'll just let you stay in my room; I'll sleep on the sofa or something."

"I hope you aren't the type who sleepwalks to the bathroom then back to bed, because I will brutally attack you have you so know."

"Ok, thanks so much for warning me."

"No problem."

"And I do not sleepwalk."

She raised her eyebrow again, and then said, "Well then, I think we'll get along rather nicely."

"I should hope so," Danny said, sighing.

After a few minutes, they were off the highway and driving down the neighborhood streets. Soon after, they reached a red-brick building-type house with a large satellite dish of sorts on top of it.

"Some connection," Sam remarked.

Danny shrugged at that, and then parked in the drive-thru. He then got out of the car, came out to let Sam out, then closed and locked the car. After that they went inside. After they closed the door, Danny whispered, "Here take my hand, my sister's hopefully sleeping so I don't want to wake her up with anything like that, which she notices very easily."

"Okay…" Sam sighed, and then clasped his hand.

He then led her up the staircase, or at least it seemed like it was. After all, they were going up. When they reached un-sloped surface, he turned right and opened a door – because of course it squeaked a bit when he opened it – then led her inside. He led her to the bed, pulled back the covers, and then sat her down upon it.

"Well don't fall off ok, my sister will definitely hear it." Danny warned quietly.

"Ok," Sam said, yawning, then slowly crawled into a comfortable laying position then pulled the covers over her head. "Is the sofa downstairs?"

"Yeah, but I'll just sleep in a sleeping bag, in case you need something. That way, there's no fumbling about as much."

"Oh ok."

She closed her eyes, faintly hearing the sounds of fabric rustling. Then a minute later she fell asleep, and so did he.

1. The Aperture: It's from my other story (titled the aperture) it does tie in with this story only in the essence of the background of the Aperture himself but you don't really have to read it if you don't want to. It didn't do to well as a story.

Woo! Finally finished, I took the whole summer on just this chapter! & 2 weeks of school…they gave me 2 art classes, wah! Only 1 I will truly enjoy…& now I must suffer from the noises of the hood at night…no wonder it's where I get all my weird ideas from…& how I chose my gothic bf…wait that's just me lol.


	3. The Past is Haunting

I have updated! Originally I was waiting for three more reviews, and I never got them so. But since I love to write I am updating this wondrous story! Thanks to my previous readers and my three reviewers, Gilgamesh, I don't care what you think of me, and Black January. Hope I haven't lost you all as readers, and enjoy!

The Past

It was so comforting, until the light shone through.

"Ugg…" Sam groaned, turning in the bed that smelled foreign to her, but strangely not bad. "Close the blinds, mom."

Someone sighed and said, "Ok, Sam, but I'm not your mom."

That startled her. She popped up in bed and was about to scream her head off until she came face to face with blue eyes.

"Who…oh wait, Danny…it's you." She rubbed her head from the headache that was forming from getting up too fast.

"Yes, good morning Samantha. I wondered if you still remembered me…or would disappear in your sleep. Or you sure you weren't just unconscious or something?"

"Then I would have died from dehydration two years ago. Really…"

"Oh," Danny said, blinking. "Why do your eyes keep changing colors? Yesterday they were purple, then gray, and then reddish, and now they're purple again."

"Huh? How the heck are they purple?" Sam asked, and then ran over to the mirror. "What the heck?!"

"So I'm guessing you weren't born with purple eyes?" Danny said, amidst her freaking out, walking behind her.

She turned around. "Yes! My eyes were hazel! Hazel! What the heck!"

"Hmm…well then that means that I guess the ectoplasm affected your spirit in more ways than one."

"Huh? Isn't ectoplasm what makes up a ghost? Then it would have changed my soul somewhat…but if I'm back in my body then…"

"I guess not all of it went away."

"I know what it did…it fused my eyes with my contacts."

"Uh…you used to wear purple contacts? Talk about weird…"

"Speaking of that…" she said, sitting at Danny's desk so she could lay her head down on the cedar. "How did you manage to defeat the mistress?"

"Mistress…you mean the enchantress?"

"Of course! How did you? You must tell me. Normally one would have to be a ghost to…you are alive, aren't you?"

"Well…uh…I can trust you right? I mean, you wouldn't run around telling anybody my secrets right?" Danny asked warily.

"Who would I tell?" Her eyes glittered. "So, you are a ghost, and I'm now alive."

"Well, I'm only half ghost."

"Oh really? I was about to say, since you look too lively to be full ghost. Well, now that I know…we must now talk about the situation here."

"Situation…yeah. Well, you don't have to be my servant or anything like that. If you don't want to…"

"Of course I don't! When I was alive, I was Miss Independent!"

"Hmm. Did you have a great love life, because mine sucks." Danny said this with a laugh.

"I…don't want to talk about it." Her demeanor changed as a deep frown appeared on her face.

"Oh…no it's okay! I was just curious, and you don't have to tell me anyways. Um…how old are you? And how long have you been dead?" He sat in a chair next to her.

"I've been dead for a while. I…guess I would be eighteen. Am I?"

"I suppose so. Well, we have to figure out a place for you to live; I can't keep you here forever."

"Why ever not?" Samantha asked with a curious look on her face. "It's not like I'd let you come even lose to doing anything indecent to me."

"Well, it's still inferred. And besides, you don't want to live in a guy's bedroom for too long, unless you're married to him."

Sam laughed at that. "Well, have any relatives? Extra rooms?"

"Uh…well…Jazz has two rooms, one to keep her stuff…she's pretty trustworthy but she can be a spazz sometimes."

"And Jazz is…"

"My sister. Jasmine."

"Which reminds me…Don't call me Samantha, I hate that name." She frowned again.

"Well, what would you prefer to be called?" Danny asked.

"Sam." She said with all seriousness.

"Ok, Sam. Well, I guess I should tell Jazz now…"

He left the room for a few minutes, which left Sam tapping the desk with boredom. She had yet to sort out her newly gained life. Maybe she could use those scenarios…

He came back with a smile.

"So, I guess Jazz said alright?" Sam said, turning to him when he came through the door.

"Yes. She promised not to tell, but she keeps winking at me. Older sisters." He snorted. "Yes, Jazz, come in."

A girl with long red hair, a bit taller than Danny, came in.

"So this is Sam! It's nice to meet you! Of course, Danny here hasn't told me the whole story, but I'll find out soon enough…" She shook hands with Sam while emitting a glare at Danny. "Well bye now, I must finish up that report!"

"How old is she?"

"She's twenty. She goes to college and all, and is in her second year. As you can tell by how she analyses situations, she's majoring in Psychology."

"Of course. Interesting family you have here."

"Just wait until you see my parents…"

Right then…"

Then a yell came from downstairs, "Danny, there's someone here to see you!"

"Who mom?" Danny yelled back.

"You know, he's coming up now!"

"Wait, mom…!"

Before he could finish the door slammed open, revealing Tucker.

"Hey man! Hey…who's she?" He said, eying her.

Sam blinked. "I guess you always forget simple things like locking doors?"

"You didn't tell me you got a girlfriend!"

"I'm/She's not my girlfriend!" Danny and Sam yelled.

"And be quiet, Tucker," Danny continued. "I'll tell you all about it. Now lock the door."


End file.
